APS Committee on Corporate Reform Sets Out Proposed Changes

APS Council to review proposal for reforming the society's governing structure.

May 19, 2014
Edited May 28, 2014

In mid May 2014, the APS Ad-Hoc Committee on Corporate Reform put forth a comprehensive proposal for reforming the society's governing structure. The APS Council will review this proposal on June 13 and then vote on the plan in July, and if approved, the membership will vote on it sometime in the fall.

In an APS News Back Page article, APS President Malcolm Beasley outlines the proposed changes, which include:

• Eliminating the present Executive Board and replacing it with a Board of Directors made up of the Presidential Line, nine council members including a Speaker of the Council, and the member-elected Treasurer. The APS President would chair the Board. As required by DC law, the Board would be the ultimate governing authority with overall fiduciary responsibility, strategic planning responsibility, and oversight of the executive.
  
  
• Repurposing the present Council into a Council of Representatives chaired by the President-Elect, with a Speaker of the Council managing the Council’s work. The Council would be delegated full responsibility for all matters of science and science policy.
  
  
• Restructuring the present executive triumvirate of Executive Officer, Treasurer/Publisher, and Editor in Chief. A new position of Chief Executive Officer would be created to oversee day-to-day operations of the Society and to be responsible for overall coherence in APS operations.

A form for member comment and background information are available at the ad hoc APS Committee on Corporate Reform website.